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<p>^^^^Wow, learn something new every day.</p>
<p>[Column:</a> Ideals, reality clash at Olympic badminton - Olympics - ESPN](<a href=“Olympics News - Olympics - ESPN”>Column: Ideals, reality clash at Olympic badminton - Olympics - ESPN)</p>
<p>My recollection is that NBC loved Michelle Kwan–she always got lots of airtime.</p>
<p>I’m skeptical that any NBC commentator called her a Chinese skater–I’d really have to see exactly what he said.</p>
<p>As to the badminton controversy, I asked my daughter about it (she’s much more into sports that I am)–and her take was that it was entirely the fault of the schedule that created the incentive to lose.</p>
<p>NBC might have loved Michelle but some commentator did not consider her an American. This comment created a big uproar among Asian American community that year. I’m trying to find the exact quote but it’s 10 years ago.</p>
<p>I agree with teh badminton take. Biggest blame goes to scheduler, second blame goes to teh team leads/coaches. The players had no choice but to obey the order.</p>
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I was thinking xenophobia, but that word is a bit stronger.</p>
<p>And “focus drugs” are, I am assuming he is referring to, are the psychostimulants (adderall, ritalin, concerta, metadate, etc) LOTs of kids are on them. Swimmers or not. But are these considered performance enhancing drugs, and do they ban substances for competitors at younger ages?</p>
<p>In the video of the badminton match between the Chinese and the Koreans, the referee told both teams that they could be disqualified for throwing the match. He was pretty clear. They CHOSE to ignore him and continued serving into the net, hitting it way out of bounds, etc. At some point these adults need to take at least SOME responsibility here. </p>
<p>They had fair warning and apparently didn’t take it seriously. Their bad.</p>
<p>Also unfortunate for the spectators who paid to see competition at the highest level.</p>
<p>Y’all see the Azerbaijan-Japan boxing match? The Japanese fighter knocked the Azerbaijan fighter down EIGHT times in the third round. Not once did the ref (from Turkemanistan) even count. He just told the Azerbaijani to get up (and gave him time to do it). By the end of the fight, he was out on his feet.</p>
<p>He won.</p>
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<p>^^^I didn’t know people in the Pacific northwest said “y’all.” Ha ha! The things I learn on CC. :D</p>
<p>I think it’s fair for badminton players to be disqualified especially if they were warned. </p>
<p>As for the case of Ye Shiwen, I think it’s a moot point since she is cleared by the IOC now. People are allowed to raise red flags especially to distract their opponents for the next swims (as for the case of Ye it didn’t matter since she went on and won another gold). However, when it’s proven that she’s clean, they need to apologize. Imagine your kids practicing hard for his game and someone falsely accuse him of cheating, you’d be mad. </p>
<p>Another thing that concerns me is that the media in this country is so bias. They cherry pick the little thing like Ye beats Lochte’s last 50 meter. He won the gold medal in the men’s event, a woman can not beat a man and therefore she must be cheating. If you look at the whole race, Ye did not beat Lochte, she was 23 seconds slower. Athletes have different styles, you can’t compare different athletes in different swim races. Lochte is the type who loves to gun it out at the beginning and tries to hold on in the last 50 meters. That’s why he’s the first in the relay so that he can give team USA a lead. Many news website still have headlines like “Ye’s “unbelievable” swims raise doping concerns” a day after the IOC declared her clean.</p>
<p>I have a friend who is a journalist and he tells me that many news site like “Time Magazine” will not allow journalists to use certain negative words on American like “Terrorists” or “torture”. Instead they use “deranged gunman” or “enhanced interrogation”. But when it comes to China or the Middle East, they have no problem using those words. I’m sure other countries’ magazine might have similar procedures. However, journalism shouldn’t be that way.</p>
<p>[Ye</a> Shiwen exhausted and struggling with relentless questions over doping, says Chinese swimmer’s father - Telegraph](<a href=“Ye Shiwen exhausted and struggling with relentless questions over doping, says Chinese swimmer's father”>Ye Shiwen exhausted and struggling with relentless questions over doping, says Chinese swimmer's father)</p>
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<p>Xenophobia would indeed be much stronger than the French derived chauvinism. A closer parallel to chauvism would the more British flavored jingoism. Think Teddy Roosevelt versus Napoleon!</p>
<p>MODERATOR’S NOTE: Please remember that the Terms of Service state that only a sentence or two may be quoted from other sources. If you do post a short quote, you must also post a link with it, or the excerpt will be deleted by a moderator.</p>
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This is what I was wondering. I read that Michael Phelps has a diagnosis of ADHD–is he allowed to use these kinds of medications when competing? And what about other athletes who might not have a diagnosis? I don’t know how helpful they’d be, but a lot of sports involve a lot of focus.</p>
<p>And a note on suspicions, and whether they have anything to do with race: I would be significantly more suspicious of questionable scores from North Korean athletes than from South Korean athletes.</p>
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I can understand why it might not be a good idea for him to blame prior doping scandals among Chinese athletes for the suspicions.</p>
<p>Finally, I admired the way the Chinese badminton coach accepted personal blame for that scandal.</p>
<p>Here’s another case of fixing the results, but not even a slap on the wrist: [Coach</a> tells Japanese Olympic soccer team to tie, not win ? USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/soccer/story/2012-08-01/Japan-soccer-not-win-Olympics/56657300/1]Coach”>http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/soccer/story/2012-08-01/Japan-soccer-not-win-Olympics/56657300/1) They didn’t want to travel to Glasgow for a game!</p>
<p>^^Hot off the press:</p>
<p>[London</a> 2012: Chinese badminton player Yu Yang quits sport after match throwing scandal, IOC eyes coaches - thestar.com](<a href=“http://www.thestar.com/sports/london2012/badminton/article/1235708--london-2012-chinese-badminton-player-yu-yang-quits-sport-after-scandal]London”>http://www.thestar.com/sports/london2012/badminton/article/1235708--london-2012-chinese-badminton-player-yu-yang-quits-sport-after-scandal)</p>
<p>I am certain she was under order from the coach to lose. The coaching staff and the BWF are to be blamed for this fiasco, not the players.</p>
<p>I suspect she will be back.</p>
<p>In one of the womens’ soccer games I watched, the commentators criticized the Americans for pushing the offense near the end of the game when they had a comfortable lead. It’s hard to imagine them declining to score, but who knows?</p>
<p>Maybe this kind of thing is just more an accepted part of the game in soccer. Remember the deliberate handball by Uruguay in the World Cup?</p>
<p>Another update, this time on that boxing match mini was talking about:</p>
<p>[London</a> 2012: Angry fans throw their weight around at Olympics - thestar.com](<a href=“http://www.thestar.com/sports/london2012/article/1235748--london-2012-angry-fans-throw-their-weight-around-at-olympics]London”>http://www.thestar.com/sports/london2012/article/1235748--london-2012-angry-fans-throw-their-weight-around-at-olympics)</p>
<p>I would love to see that fencing fiasco overturned as well.</p>
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<p>I think it’s different in soccer. The last games of the group stage were played simultaneously at the same time, so you don’t know the result of the other game yet. Also, Japan did not intentionally lose the game. The score was 0-0 with S. Africa. Canada ties Sweden 2-2 in the other match of that group, when Sweden was leading 2-0. Could it be Sweden let off the pedals and rest their players so that Canada can tie the game and advance to the 2nd round as well? </p>
<p>I remember in the World Cup 2010 when Brazil played Portugal. People were expecting a great game but it turned out boring as a draw 0-0 would allow both teams to advance to the playoff. That’s exactly what they did, kicked the ball around and never really risked attacking for fear of injuries.</p>
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<p>Not only stronger but different. Xenophobia (literally “fear of foreigners”) means an unreasonable fear or suspicion of foreign or strange people or things. Not quite the same thing as chauvinism, which is an overweening patriotism or pride in one’s own nation - to the point that one becomes blind to any faults his own nation might have. </p>
<p>Chauvinists are not necessarily afraid or suspicious of foreigners or other nations. But they certainly consider them to be inferior.</p>
<p>““Finally, I admired the way the Chinese badminton coach accepted personal blame for that scandal.””</p>
<p>For all that China has invested in sports, it is only wise to weed out the infractions and build a cleaner image. It seems that they have been working on it.</p>
<p>““Remember the deliberate handball by Uruguay in the World Cup?””</p>
<p>Or are you talking about Maradona’s “Hand of God” in WC 1986? That is Argentina.</p>
<p>[Maradona</a> Hand Of God Goal - YouTube](<a href=“Maradona Hand Of God Goal - YouTube”>Maradona Hand Of God Goal - YouTube)</p>